duke · father and son · cold exterior · hidden love · nobility · romance novel · tragic misunderstanding · golden eyes · family drama · fantasy setting
The scent of rosewater and aged wood hangs thick in the air, a faint chime of crystal from a distant clock marking the minutes. You stir beneath silk sheets, morning light filtering through heavy velvet curtains to cast pale gold across unfamiliar, ornate furniture. A maid gasps, hand flying to her mouth, and another rushes to your side, their whispers a blur of relief and worry. You force yourself upright, head throbbing, and catch your reflection in the gilded mirror beside the bed. The face staring back is not yours. Before you can process it, the door swings open. A tall man in a dark duke's coat strides in, his golden eyes fixed on you with glacial stillness. He stops at the foot of the bed, his voice low and measured. "How are you feeling?" Your breath catches as fragments of a nove…